New Holi City
The City of New Holi is the capital of the Holish Lancaster States. It has an estimated population of almost 24,567,981 people with a land area of about 502 square miles. Located on West Capital Island, it is located on the eastern coast and is the densest populated area in the Capital Islands. The city dominates the political and financial stage, being the home of almost 5000 financial institutions. It also houses the Holish Parliament and Executive Offices, as well as the Holish Defense Administration and countless other government agencies. About 45% of the population work for the government, while 23% work indirectly for it. The Refen River runs directly through the city, allowing it to have some harbor space. The City has one of the world's largest spaceports and five international airports. It consists of sixteen 'townships,' each separating the Capitol District. It is the most diverse city in the world, home to almost 11,000 different interplanetary species and as many as 24,000 different languages are spoken in New Holi. The Capitol District retains the highest population density in the country with almost 72.6 million inhabitants. The gross metropolitan product is about 5.42 trillion Kronos, however this lags by almost 1.2 trillion compared to Castie City and Manchester City. Much of New Holi City is sprawling with Holish Classical architecture, reminiscent of the Third Republic Revival Era, and Neo-Pydonian architecture. However, some Second Republic Archtecture still exists, such as the Parliament and Executive Mansion. The city's 4th Avenue is its most famous area, included in over 6000 films and is home to a variety of high end shops and the nation's premier art museum. Many of its landmarks are internationally renowned, such as its Whilst Park and Averill Tower. In the southern portion of the city is its Financial District, centered by the Holish Capital Stock Exchange HSCE. Coupled with thousands of banks and financial firms, New Holi City has been the world's financial center for centuries. New Holi City is also home to sixteen universities, most notably Ernest University, one of the most premier research universities in the world. History Early History During the Castinean Empire, present-day New Holi City was inhabited by Castinean sailors who developed it into a small regional colony. The colony, called Verstans, controlled most regional affairs on the island, even housing up to 600 troops at one point. However, due to little economic growth or strategic importance, Verstans never grew above 2500 inhabitants. During the 1st Holish Republic, Verstans grew more popular given the move of the capital to Holi City on East Island. From 1314 to 1600, Verstans grew into town of 25,000 civilians, mostly farmers and government officials overseeing West Island affairs. In 1609, the Holish military build a fort along the Refen River in order to decrease West Island crime. For much of the 1600s, Verstans remained small and insignificant. During the Eastern Wars, Verstans grew into a recruiting outpost for the West Island, bringing a large military presence to the town. From 1700 to 1746, the town exploded into the first West Island city, home to almost 100,000 people. Discovery of oil on the Island also brought commerce to the town and in 1751, Verstans became the regional capital of West Island, giving it separate Parliamentary Officials from East Island. The EP War and its Capitalization In 1806 HLS lost all its mainland territories to the Pydonians in a staggering defeat. Fearing an invasion of East Island, and more importantly the harbor capital Holi City, the Parliament fled to Verstans, which was not a coastal city. The move brought a massive sum of the population to West Island, and by 1810 it became clear the the government would not move back to Holi City. In 1823, Parliament officially passed legislation proclaiming Verstans the new capital and renamed it New Holi City. From 1823 onwards, New Holi City became the center of the Holish world, which meant it began to drastically grow. From 1823 to 2001 the city expanded to almost 1.2 million inhabitants, and almost 300 square miles. The city also became the center of government, meaning an increase in defense. The Refen River held the Holish 1st Fleet, and the Holish Corps. of Engineers had to dig out the coastline in order to construct space for a large enough harbor. The city also had to accommodate LS and CU forces, as well as trade ships, city officials developed the Refen Outlay, an area just six miles from the city that would additional harbor space. New Holi City was targeted several times by the EP, mostly during the late 1800s, in hopes of destroying morale or hitting valuable targets. Because of the nation's small size at the time, most if its industry was localized around the city. In order to respond to the aerial threats, New Holi City had almost 16,000 anti-aircraft batteries, as well as five air force bases around it. From 1850 to 1905, several factories were actually constructed underground in order to hide their location. The Holish capital served as the main meeting place for Allied delegations given its proximity to the main theater of the war. The Allied High Command was stationed in the city for most of the war, as well as the Allied Intelligence services. The Post Republic After the EP War, New Holi City had a major task of remaking the Holish Republic after most of its land have been under Pydonian control for well over 200 years. This period, called the Post Republic, was the most political period for the capital. The increasing divide in political ideology brought a wave of violence in the city, increasing its crime rate by almost 35%. Terrorist attacks were common, such as the 2034 Parliament Bombings, which killed six MPs. These attacks prompted New Holi City to develop an increasingly intrusive police force, including the usage of drones, CCTV networks, and high range listening systems. The 2030s were a terrible time for the city. I remember walking down previously safe corridors, seeing police officers and coroners over dead bodies. Sirens were just as common as birds in a forest, and it was not uncommon for a person to know someone who was randomly killed in the streets. The Police force was extremely frustrated by this, but luckily for them the 2034 Bombings gave them the excuse to really drive change. I swear, from 2036 onwards, every single square foot of the city was bugged or under surveillance. - Hanreich Gruber, writer The increasing police crackdown and violence forced many wealthier people out of the city, resulting in a decline in population during the later stages of the Post Republic. The Holish Civil War and the Two Republic Era After the 2056 Declaration by the Traditionalists, New Holi City assumed control over the Holish Modernist Republic. During the Franked administration, New Holi City was placed under military law, which implemented a strict curfew and banned all civilians from entering or approaching important government or military areas. For the early years of the war, the Parliament met outside of the city. As the HTR neared Castie City, fears that an aerial strike of New Holi City mounted, resulting in almost 65,000 HMR troops occupying the capital. The force did fully recede until 2062. The City remained the center of Holish affairs for most of the Two Republic Era. During the First Buck Sea War, the Capital saw major damage for the first time in its history. LS bombers bypassed Holish air defenses and struck the city with almost 30 tons of high explosives. The raid resulted in almost 2000 deaths and the destruction of the old Parliament building. The raid resulted in two major fires, wiping out fifteen neighborhoods, and neared dangerously close to several oil reserves. The attack was the first major attack on the nation since the Civil War, resulting in the authorization of using nuclear weapons on President City. The counterattack prompted a brief exchange of nuclear and HESKW attacks and some of the deadliest conflicts in history. The attack on the city sustained a major blow to the growth of the city, and nation. It ushered in a period called the 'Capital Decay' where the city slid into disorder and filth. Much of the infastructure needed to holdup the city was unable to be funded due to the desperate need to rebuild much of Sorti and Castie City, as well as sustaining the war effort. The 2130s brought major economic recession and the poverty rate in the city spiked to almost 52%. City officials tried to stem the disorder by promoting welfare programs and labor projects, such as the construction of Verstans Bridge, but they all failed to truly bring back economic growth. Luckily, the city saw a period of growth after the HTR and HMR began to make amends. After the stunning victory in the Second Buck Sea War, the HMR began to see major economic growth. Under Mayor Bryant Stills, the City began to see growth in the early 2200s. Stills aimed to concentrate both the political and financial worlds together by giving banks major tax cuts and incentives to move from Castie City. These efforts worked, and by 2210, about 40% of the Holish banks had either their headquarters or a major branch in the city. In 2230, New Holi City opened the Holish Capital Stock Exchange with almost 2200 companies. The first half of the 2200s is commonly referred to as the Revivalist Period for the city, where hundreds of new construction projects began to transform the city. City officials, inspired by the Castie City reconstruction 75 years earlier, sought to return the city to its more classical appearance, all while heavily modernizing it as well. The movement created an inner city that relied on more 2nd Republic architecture, especially the Presidential Mansion which was modeled after the Castie City Pydonian Executive Suite. The Parliament was rebuilt in the same dimensions as it was prior to the 2034 Bombings. The movement increased green spaces, developing over 300 new parks. In a bid to also concentrate Holish culture, the Museum of Modern History was built in 2215, along with the Museum of Modern Holish Art. In the Financial District, massive buildings were erected in this era, the largest being the Ernest Tower, at almost 450 floors. In the early 2300s, New Holi City surpassed Orangeville for the largest capital in the world, at 14.9 million inhabitants. The Third Republic Era In 2336, New Holi City reigned over all of HLS with the defeat of the HTR. The victory brought a wave of nationalism to the city, and its extreme leaders ordered a leave from its Revivalist period to more stark and authoritarian design. The Third Republic Era brought countless new designs to the city, including the Wave Complex, a 200,000 square foot indoor forum that was known for its cubic geometry and cold atmosphere. The usage of glass was seen as old fashion, bringing the return of concrete as the main exterior material. Roads were heavily limited to pedestrians, as an increase in military operations brought larger vehicles into the city. Consequently, the City Council ordered the additions to its aging subway system, greatly expanding its reaches. The developing of the Capitol Bridge, which connected both Capital Islands, brought an influx of people into the region, expanding its suburban population. The Third Republic Era saw a decrease in international diversity as the government sought to cleanse the Holish population. As a result, many Crocodilians and other foreigners began to recede from the city, greatly reducing its foreign culture. New cultural laws also banned Castinean and Traditionalist cultures, restricting the city's cultural institutions to only perform or exhibit Pydonian or Modernist events. The censorship was so strong that in 2350 the Holish Musical Hall was forced to shut down after 450 years of operation due to the performance of a piece written by a pro-Traditionalist composer. In 2380, with the election of the more centrist President Warner Stevenson, the city saw a relaxation of censorship laws. The Fourth Republic and Modern Era